Remembering our founders
Across our 70-year history, we have achieved an array of important business goals which have established us as a global leader in medical device design and manufacture. A certified B Corp, two-time Queen’s award winner and member of the United Nations Global Compact, along with numerous examples of product innovation and world firsts like the automatic lancing device and the plastic auto-injector. Add to this the establishment of state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities with the commitment to expand further, and it’s clear to see that we have experienced successful growth across all facets of the company. Throughout this amazing journey of milestones, spanning 70 successful years, we are so proud that we can still say we are a family run company.
Over 70 years ago our founders John Mumford and Ivan Owen met whilst completing their apprenticeships at Longworth Scientific Co. Ltd (now Penlon Ltd) in Oxford. Whilst gaining essential experience at his apprenticeship, Ivan always dreamt of owning his own company, yet knew it would be difficult to achieve this alone. Having admired John’s work as a fitter (Ivan was a turner by trade), Ivan soon proposed the idea of going into business together and his offer was immediately accepted.
It was two years until their apprenticeships ended so they had plenty of time to plan how they would make their dream a reality. They first approached Ivan’s father, Tom Owen. Tom was so impressed with Ivan and John’s plans that he decided to ask the young men if he could join them on equal terms. Although Tom Owen had no engineering experience, he was an excellent administrator, so his offer was gratefully accepted, and another important piece of the jigsaw fell into place.
Quickly moving onto the next steps of acquiring a business location in the form of some lock-up garages and then the all-important machinery (which was delivered by a local weightlifter!) the partners, supported by Tom were optimistic about future opportunities. After a visit to the Radcliffe Infirmary on the Woodstock Road, Oxford, the first business prospects presented themselves.
Ivan and John met with Professor Robert Macintosh, the inventor of the Macintosh laryngoscope, the core product of the firm where Ivan and John were apprentices. Professor Macintosh proposed an improvement to the device that would make it easier for doctors to examine the patient’s larynx – and just like that they had their very first product.
Professor Macintosh was also behind Owen Mumford’s second ground-breaking product – The Oxford Inflating Bellows (OIB). This versatile, artificial ventilation and anaesthetic system was Owen Mumford’s breakthrough product, one that was still selling 40 years later. Inexpensive and lightweight, the OIB was usable in any part of the world and in any climate. This was the foundation of the realisation that the partners could use their skills and business in ways that could really improve peoples’ lives and was the natural beginning of the core values that we uphold today.
It was the early work and business philosophies carried out by our two founders which created the strong backbone of the company and allowed for the ongoing invention of life-enhancing products, that in turn provided stable and continual growth. From the early manufacture of medical devices and the introduction of plastics, through to trade moulding, John was key to our design and manufacturing success while Ivan was always focused on the new opportunities that lead to better strategies and product development. This pioneering spirit has continued strongly across the decades and has been fundamental to the introduction of many innovative medical devices that have changed the landscape of the medical device industry and established Owen Mumford as a global leader and trusted partner to the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies.